Of Eavesdropping, Pimples, and Hopes for Tomorrow
by daysandweeks
Summary: Eloise Midgen does not have a date to the Yule Ball, or any self-confidence, for that matter. Harry Potter provides her with just the hope she needs.


**A/N:** _This was written for tat1312's Rare Pairings Challenge over at HPFC. I'd like to note that I made Eloise a Hufflepuff in this. Though the movies make her a Gryffindor, the books never say what house she is, though they hint at her being a Hufflepuff. I went with this. That being said, I hope you enjoy this piece._

Of Eavesdropping, Pimples, and Hopes for Tomorrow

Eloise Midgen did not have a date to the Yule Ball.

It wasn't as if she _had_ to go, but the truth was, she desperately wanted to. Eloise knew that she wasn't the most attractive girl, and so she spent most of her time with her hair hanging in face, trying to hide her acne. She had taken to sitting in the back of classrooms and not conversing with many other people, even the few shy girls in her year who had attempted to make conversation with her, noticing a kindred soul.

In fact, she had not paid much attention to the stir about the Yule Ball until recently. She had been walking back to the Hufflepuff dormitories after classes when she noticed Harry Potter and his friend, one of the Weasleys, down the hall. The two were talking and the red-headed boy was rambling about something to Harry, his voice animated. Though Eloise was far behind them, she could hear every word they said and also knew that the Weasley boy was upset about something.

"I just can't believe Hermione has a date to the Yule Ball and we don't," he grumbled, and suddenly Eloise felt her heart flutter. She didn't have a date either! Perhaps, if she began talking to Harry and his friend, one of them would ask her!

Harry shrugged. "Yeah. I was hoping to go with Cho, but, well…"

Eloise felt her heart flutter some more. It was true that she had always had crush on Cedric Diggory, but then he'd begun dating Cho Chang. Aparantly, Harry had had a crush on Cho Chang! This obviously made Eloise and Harry a perfect match.

The taller boy began speaking. "Yeah, well, at least you have plenty of girls who want to go with you, being as you're one of the champions and all." The boys turned a corner and Eloise scrambled to keep up with them, trying to remain as silent as possible. The other two were now headed up a staircase, in completely the opposite direction Eloise needed to go, but she disregarded this and continued following them, trying to pick up on any hints as to when she could meet up with Harry alone. It was true that he had plenty of girls who liked him while Eloise was painfully shy and never talked to any boys, but maybe this was her change at a fairytale romance of sorts.

When the boys reached the top of the staircase, they still did not notice Eloise following them. The Weasley boy began talking again. "Hermione was trying to help me out by coming up with a list of girls I could ask, but all of them were _awful_." They turned sharply to climb up the next flight of stairs and from below Eloise could see the sneer on Harry's friend's face. "Like Eloise Midgen."

Eloise stopped in her tracks.

"Hermione was going on about how nice Eloise is…"

For a moment Eloise smiled.

"…but she's ugly. Have you seen that acne? And her nose isn't even in the middle of her face."

Harry laughed and Eloise felt hot tears pooling in her eyes. Why had she expected the boys to take any positive notice of her? Biting her lip, she turned and ran down the stairs, not caring how much noise she made. She had to get back to her dormitory, to her warm, safe bed. She just had to.

She sprinted down the hallway, stamping her feet, and felt fat tears roll down her cheeks. When she was halfway to the common room she dropped one of her books, and with a great sob turned in her tracks and went back for it. Sniffling loudly, she reached down to pick the book up and was both surprised and mortified when another hand reached it before she did.

Eloise began standing back up very slowly. She wiped her tears with one hand while cradling the books she still held onto with the other. When she realized who was before her, she resisted another sob and simply reached out and grabbed the book the boy, Harry Potter, offered her, before turning around on her heel and stamping off in the other direction.

"Eloise!" Harry called. "Wait!"

Eloise stopped and sobbed quietly, trying to steady her breath. She wiped at her nose and eyes before turning around to see Harry staring at her, a rather heart-broken look on his face. _Serves him right_, she thought to herself. _He shouldn't have laughed at Weasley's joke like that._

"I'm sorry," Harry murmured, staring at Eloise. "That was really awful of Ron to say that—"

"And you laughed!" Eloise choked out, surprised by how loud and angry her voice sounded. It echoed down the empty hallway, and she hoped that Weasley, wherever he was, heard it.

Harry nodded, stuffing his free hand, the one that wasn't holding his books and that he'd retrieved her fallen one with, into his pocket. "Yeah, I did. It was horrible of me." He paused and looked at the floor before gazing at Eloise once more. "You're a really nice girl, Eloise. I know that. You don't deserve to have people say nasty things about you."

Eloise threw her hair back, for once not caring about what she looked like. "I know I'm nice," she spat. "But I'm not pretty, and that's all you boys care about, isn't it?"

Harry let out a deep breath and Eloise could tell that he was upset. "That's not what's important, Eloise."

"But it's what you _care_ about," she insisted, and now her voice sounded so painfully pitiful, even to her, that she dropped her head once more, letting her dark hair cascade before her. She was silent for a moment and was surprised when she saw Harry's feet begin walking towards her. She had expected him to leave and when she looked up she noticed that he was just a meter in front of her. "You know," Eloise murmured, her voice shaky, "I know I might not be beautiful but I'm hard-working and smart and loyal and a _good person_."

Harry nodded and Eloise wanted to slap him across his faultless face for it. The only imperfection was his scar, and even that was glorified. "You are a good person," he told her, and her eyes moved to his lips. She wondered, for an instant, what it felt like to kiss a boy and how many girls Harry Potter had kissed. "I know that. You're here putting up with me, now, aren't you?"

Eloise blushed and looked Harry in his green eyes. She suddenly felt very shy. "I…I'm sorry I yelled at you," she stammered, cradling her books to her chest and letting her hair fall before her face once more.

She was startled when Harry reached forward and brushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. She managed not to flinch but felt her cheeks heat up even more, causing her ears and neck to flush as well as her face. Eloise darted her eyes up to meet Harry's and saw a funny look in them, one that made her wonder if a boy could ever see her as anything more than pimply, dumpy Eloise Midgen.

"Don't be sorry," Harry murmured in return. "You're a very sweet girl. Don't let anyone make you feel like you're not." He smiled at her and she smiled back. With a nod, Harry turned around and began heading towards his common room again. He looked back at Eloise once and flashed her another grin before rounding the corner, and which point Eloise stared down at her books for a moment before closing her eyes.

She somehow made it back to the Hufflepuff common room in a rather dreamlike state. Throughout the rest of the afternoon she found herself thinking of Harry and the way he had touched her hair. Had he seen her acne and her oddly-shaped nose? Or had he seen a girl? She sat in the common room, thinking over and over how he had looked at her and wondering if other boys ever took notice of her in such a way.

At suppertime she went to the Great Hall with some other Hufflepuff girls, though she generally went alone. Hannah Abbot had seen her sitting in the common room with a dreamy smile on her face and said, "Eloise Midgen, what's this?" When Eloise had played off her smiles as just being in a good mood, Hannah had smiled in return. "Well, that's the most you've spoken to me since we've met," she had said in an astonished voice. "I'm headed to supper soon. Would you like to come?"

In the Great Hall, Eloise ate and laughed with the other girls, though it was true she spoke the least often and only after words of encouragement from the others. She looked up once or twice to gaze at Harry Potter, who sat with the red-headed boy and his other friend, who Eloise knew to be Hermione Granger. The Weasley boy looked embarrassed upon meeting her eye, but Harry smiled up at her and waved. Though Hannah teased Eloise about fraternizing with the rival champion, as Cedric was the one Hannah and all of Hufflepuff was rooting for, Eloise simply shrugged. "But Harry's very nice," she said. "I still think Cedric is the best, though."

When the girls were about to head back to the common room, Eloise was surprised to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "Eloise?" the person behind her asked, and his voice was undoubtedly male. For a moment, she became incredibly excited, thinking that perhaps it was Harry behind her and he'd decided to ask her to the ball. But then she realized he was still sitting at the Gryffindor table—and anyway, would she want to say yes? He'd be asking her out of pity, and Eloise was beginning to think that with a smile and some self-confidence she could make friends by other methods.

She turned around slowly to see a tall boy, who quickly removed his hand and stuffed it, along with his other one, inside the pockets of his trousers. "Hello, Wayne," Eloise said, staring up at the boy, a fellow Hufflepuff. She had never really talked to him, but he had always tried to make conversation with her, and she figured she might as well respond. Wayne was tall and gangly and had an overbite, but he was also incredibly sweet and funny.

"Do you have a date to the Yule Ball?" Wayne asked, smiling down at her.

Eloise blinked, surprised. She felt her cheeks heat up once more. Was this really happening? "Oh, umm…" she began, unable to look Wayne in the eye.

"It's alright if you don't…I mean…"

Eloise shook her head. _You're a very sweet girl_, she reminded herself. _Don't let anyone make you feel like you're not._ Harry's words comforted her, and she made an addition to them. _Don't let _yourself_ make you feel like you're not_.

She grinned up at Wayne and felt her blush dissipate. "No," she told him. "I don't. Why do you ask?"

Wayne smiled. "Well, I was wondering if you'd go with me."

Eloise felt her heart flutter for the third time that day. She gazed across the Great Hall before answering Wayne, feeling like she had someone to thank for her new state of mind. When Harry noticed her staring at him his eyes met hers. Eloise felt her heart beat even faster and realized it was true that she harbored feelings for Harry. She wondered what it would be like to kiss him, to have him hold her and dance with her at the ball. But that was not her reality. She grinned at him, knowing that maybe one day she would have her chance, but for now…

She turned to look at Wayne. She hoped he just cared about her as a friend, but if he felt deeper feelings for her… Well, she didn't know what she would do. But for now, she was content with feeling happy about herself. With forgetting about her pimples and weird nose and shy ways. "I would love to," she chimed.

"That's great!" Wayne exclaimed.

Eloise smiled and exited the Great Hall with him, shooting one final glance back at Harry as she left. He was eyeing up one of the Patil twins now, and Eloise grinned, thinking maybe Harry would be happy for now, too.

She went to bed that night with a smile on her face for the first time in a while.


End file.
